Toss bad dog food out.
Dog dropping food on the floor.
The more subordinate pack members would carry food away to hide it from other members of the pack.
She takes a few pieces of kibble from her bowl carries it a few feet away drops it on the floor and then eats it piece by piece with painstaking slowness.
Adrienne farricelli is a certified dog trainer and behavior consultant.
Julie albright keck dvm ma dacvb an assistant professor of veterinary behavior at the university of.
That s the average time from when i drop food on the floor until the dog has finished eating it there is not a swarm of bacteria lying on the ground waiting to pounce on any food that comes.
Give your dog treats directly never by dropping them on the floor.
Keep your dog food in the original bag and place it inside an airtight food bin to keep it fresh.
Your dog wants to protect or hide the food.
While this seems counter intuitive to preventing floor mess it may have the opposite effect focusing his mind at meal times so that he can eat in one place and doesn t miss eating any of his food.
They are actually learning that they can make something happen.
It reminds me of the way chickadees eat from birdfeeders taking one item from the feeder and flying to a nearby.
Their way of communicating once they learn they can drop food it isn t long before they realize that they can throw food off their high.
Behaviourist claire arrowsmith says.
It s fun for babies and toddlers to drop or throw food on the floor.
Tip 6 make sure the food hasn t gone bad.
Possible reasons behind the curious mealtime behavior.
Use within six weeks of opening the food bag.
If the food is moldy or rancid your dog will not want to eat it and may leave it on the floor.
Gertie has an unusual eating behavior.
Physically divide your dog s chow into a few piles which he can hunt down.
It may be even more exciting if there s a dog there to eat it up.
Before dogs were domesticated they often ran in packs.
When dogs in the wild make a kill the outranked animals drag pieces of food away so they don t have to fight the leader or a more dominant canine for it says dr.
Why will my dog eat his food off the floor but not from a bowl.
She is also a former veterinarian assistant and author of the popular online dog training course brain training for dogs her work has appeared in several print and online publications including e how usa today every dog magazine daily puppy and connecticut dog magazine.
Don t let her though or else she ll associate the floor with food which only encourages her to keep up her odd little habit.
If your dog previously ate from his bowl then it sounds as though he has made a negative association that has put him off doing so now.
She can spend hours polishing off a couple of cups of dry dog food.
Some dogs particularly those in multi dog households may carry their food away as a way to keep it to themselves.
